1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,800 S1: If you've ever felt that you're being rushed through a 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:10,720 S1: health care appointment, you're not alone. Now, a number of 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,840 S1: optometrists have told our mastheads that they are being pressured to, yes, 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,319 S1: rush appointments and even skip providing clinical tests in order 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:25,040 S1: to sell, sell, sell. I'm Samantha Selinger Morris and you're 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,120 S1: listening to Morning Edition from The Age and The Sydney 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:33,680 S1: Morning Herald today, health reporter Rachel Rasker on the optometry 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:45,159 S1: chains allegedly prioritising money over patient health. It's July the 21st. Rachel, 9 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:46,479 S1: welcome to the podcast. 10 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:47,640 S2: Thanks for having me. 11 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,159 S1: Okay. Now, you've spoken to a number of Australian optometrists, 12 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,360 S1: I guess you could call them whistleblowers. And they say 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,800 S1: that numerous optometry chains are risking patients health with various 14 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,200 S1: types of practices. So how so? What are they telling you? 15 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,459 S2: So they've told me that at big optometry chains, including 16 00:01:04,459 --> 00:01:08,140 S2: Specsavers and Opsm kind of being the biggest chains in Australia. 17 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:12,459 S2: These optometrists, who are essentially registered health professionals, are being 18 00:01:12,459 --> 00:01:16,259 S2: pressured to hit sales targets like glasses sales, as well 19 00:01:16,260 --> 00:01:21,500 S2: as rush through clinical consultations in order to maximize profits, basically. 20 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:24,699 S2: And they reckon this puts public safety at risk, public 21 00:01:24,700 --> 00:01:27,380 S2: health at risk. And in terms of pressures, by that 22 00:01:27,380 --> 00:01:31,220 S2: I mean being threatened with pay cuts or disciplinary reviews 23 00:01:31,220 --> 00:01:35,140 S2: if they don't hit enough KPIs in terms of sales, basically, 24 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:38,500 S2: in terms of what this could mean for patients, basically. 25 00:01:38,540 --> 00:01:40,500 S2: I mean, on one hand, maybe you go to the 26 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:42,619 S2: optometrist and you just think, I'm here to get some 27 00:01:42,620 --> 00:01:45,259 S2: new glasses, you know, not that big of a risk. 28 00:01:45,260 --> 00:01:49,420 S2: But they're also trained to detect things like cancers, possible strokes. 29 00:01:49,420 --> 00:01:51,580 S2: There's all kinds of things that can point to how 30 00:01:51,620 --> 00:01:55,140 S2: our overall health is doing in our eyes, essentially. And 31 00:01:55,140 --> 00:01:56,580 S2: so I reckon this can put a lot of, yeah, 32 00:01:56,580 --> 00:01:58,060 S2: a lot of patient healthcare at risk. 33 00:01:58,300 --> 00:02:01,620 S1: And so you have reviewed more than 80 internal reports 34 00:02:01,620 --> 00:02:06,440 S1: and correspondence from within a variety of optometry brands. So 35 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:08,720 S1: did that research. I mean, what did it tell you? 36 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,799 S1: Does it correspond with what these optometrists are telling you 37 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,359 S1: or did it paint a different picture? 38 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,480 S2: Yeah, I think when I first heard all this, I 39 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,280 S2: kind of thought, oh, surely not. I mean, I didn't, 40 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:20,480 S2: I didn't quite believe it. And especially because a lot 41 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,920 S2: of these, um, individual outlets, they are franchises. And I 42 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,080 S2: thought maybe it's just a few franchisees who are bad apples. 43 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,600 S2: They're trying to make ends meet its cost of living crisis. 44 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,600 S2: But essentially, from what I've looked at, this is essentially 45 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,600 S2: company policy. I've seen messages from people who are in 46 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:41,240 S2: head office at Specsavers in group chats with optometrists, saying, 47 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:43,799 S2: we're going to basically cut your pay if what they 48 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:48,200 S2: call conversions, which is essentially same day glasses sales don't improve, 49 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,320 S2: as well as disciplinary reviews kind of being threatened to 50 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,360 S2: come into meetings. Yeah. And even training documents, which kind 51 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:59,360 S2: of stipulate the way that clinical consults should be done, 52 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,080 S2: which is in line with these KPIs that optometrists have 53 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:02,880 S2: been telling me about. 54 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,180 S1: And you spoke with one optometrist. This is Matt Trinh. 55 00:03:06,180 --> 00:03:09,100 S1: He worked at Opsm in Sydney and Newcastle for more 56 00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:11,820 S1: than a decade, and he warned that such practices could 57 00:03:11,820 --> 00:03:16,940 S1: actually result in vision loss or in extreme cases, fatalities. 58 00:03:16,940 --> 00:03:19,220 S1: So can you tell us, I guess, a bit about 59 00:03:19,220 --> 00:03:22,980 S1: that and other sort of warning stories that other optometrists 60 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:26,460 S1: told you could result when they are, for instance, pressured 61 00:03:26,460 --> 00:03:29,260 S1: to sell or pressure to reduce the number of time 62 00:03:29,260 --> 00:03:32,419 S1: consuming clinical tests, for instance, that they book in a day. 63 00:03:32,860 --> 00:03:35,580 S2: Yeah. I mean, Matt spoke a lot about the possible 64 00:03:35,580 --> 00:03:38,180 S2: risks that can happen when the focus is on sales 65 00:03:38,180 --> 00:03:40,780 S2: and not on patient health. And he also spoke about 66 00:03:40,780 --> 00:03:43,580 S2: the industry and optometrists as being really the front line 67 00:03:43,580 --> 00:03:46,260 S2: for eye health, kind of like a GP would be 68 00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:49,660 S2: where they're meant to be screening for everything, looking at everything. 69 00:03:49,660 --> 00:03:51,940 S2: And if something's a concern, then they will refer you 70 00:03:51,940 --> 00:03:55,020 S2: on to an ophthalmologist who is that specialist that is 71 00:03:55,060 --> 00:03:58,020 S2: much more expensive, but this is more the everyday person 72 00:03:58,020 --> 00:04:01,180 S2: is going to an optometrist for their eye health. So 73 00:04:01,220 --> 00:04:04,460 S2: in terms of risk, I mean, one optometrist at Bailey Nelson, 74 00:04:04,460 --> 00:04:07,530 S2: they mentioned that at one of these um, peak sales 75 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:10,690 S2: periods are also called blackout periods in the industry where 76 00:04:10,730 --> 00:04:14,850 S2: essentially optometrists are discouraged from doing too many time consuming 77 00:04:14,850 --> 00:04:16,810 S2: clinical tests because this is the time when they can 78 00:04:16,810 --> 00:04:19,890 S2: make a lot of glasses sales, essentially, because health fund 79 00:04:19,890 --> 00:04:23,570 S2: benefits may be expiring. And yeah, they can, they can 80 00:04:23,570 --> 00:04:26,370 S2: get some good profits at that time, but they essentially 81 00:04:26,370 --> 00:04:28,970 S2: ignored this directive because they were concerned about a patient 82 00:04:28,970 --> 00:04:32,930 S2: with some red flag symptoms. They carried out some further tests, 83 00:04:32,930 --> 00:04:35,969 S2: and it turned out after a referral to an ophthalmologist, 84 00:04:35,970 --> 00:04:39,609 S2: that this patient had an unruptured brain aneurysm and the 85 00:04:39,610 --> 00:04:42,490 S2: patient had surgery on it the week after. And essentially, 86 00:04:42,490 --> 00:04:45,130 S2: this patient would have died had that not been picked up. 87 00:04:45,250 --> 00:04:48,049 S1: I mean, that's shocking. Were there any other instances where 88 00:04:48,050 --> 00:04:50,890 S1: other optometrists told you that they had picked up a 89 00:04:50,890 --> 00:04:54,490 S1: potentially bad health outcome that would have been missed had 90 00:04:54,490 --> 00:04:56,730 S1: they not taken that time to, to give that person 91 00:04:56,730 --> 00:04:57,530 S1: that test? 92 00:04:57,930 --> 00:05:00,250 S2: Yeah, I think every optometrist has a story of picking 93 00:05:00,250 --> 00:05:02,050 S2: up something like this. I don't think it's something that 94 00:05:02,050 --> 00:05:04,490 S2: you would be doing every day in that line of work, 95 00:05:04,490 --> 00:05:07,770 S2: but it is definitely a possibility. I know that Opsm 96 00:05:07,770 --> 00:05:09,669 S2: on the other end of the spectrum, they're pressured to 97 00:05:09,710 --> 00:05:13,430 S2: give extra treatment. They're called dry eye treatments, essentially, and 98 00:05:13,430 --> 00:05:16,510 S2: a dry eye treatment is essentially red light therapy used 99 00:05:16,510 --> 00:05:20,070 S2: to treat dry eyes. Opsm think maybe 1 in 3 100 00:05:20,070 --> 00:05:24,150 S2: people have these dry eye problems. Whether or not that's accurate, 101 00:05:24,150 --> 00:05:26,630 S2: it's hard to say. And optometrists told me this shouldn't 102 00:05:26,630 --> 00:05:29,710 S2: be a KPI. This should be based on clinical judgment, 103 00:05:29,750 --> 00:05:32,590 S2: patient to patient. But they have these pressures. And we 104 00:05:32,589 --> 00:05:35,310 S2: know that at least one patient has received burns to 105 00:05:35,350 --> 00:05:38,390 S2: their eyelids and eyes as a result of this dry 106 00:05:38,430 --> 00:05:39,190 S2: eye therapy. 107 00:05:39,550 --> 00:05:41,789 S1: And so just to confirm, so some of these optometrists 108 00:05:41,790 --> 00:05:44,909 S1: have said they're being pressured not to conduct clinical tests, 109 00:05:44,910 --> 00:05:48,390 S1: in particular during these so-called blackout periods, because they should 110 00:05:48,390 --> 00:05:50,630 S1: be using that time to just focus on selling instead. 111 00:05:50,630 --> 00:05:51,550 S1: Is that it? 112 00:05:51,830 --> 00:05:53,190 S2: Yeah. So it's kind of a bit of both. So 113 00:05:53,230 --> 00:05:55,470 S2: at some points in time, it's or some chains, they're 114 00:05:55,470 --> 00:05:57,990 S2: being told don't do these tests. They take too long. 115 00:05:57,990 --> 00:05:59,670 S2: We're trying to get more patients in and out of 116 00:05:59,670 --> 00:06:02,550 S2: the door to sell glasses and other places. They're either 117 00:06:02,550 --> 00:06:06,070 S2: trying to build the patient or Medicare at higher rates 118 00:06:06,310 --> 00:06:07,990 S2: to get a bit more bang for their buck each 119 00:06:08,029 --> 00:06:09,990 S2: each appointment, and do extra tests that may or may 120 00:06:10,089 --> 00:06:13,490 S2: not be necessary, or treatments just to get that extra 121 00:06:13,490 --> 00:06:14,170 S2: bit of profit. 122 00:06:18,450 --> 00:06:19,370 S1: After the break. 123 00:06:19,810 --> 00:06:22,130 S2: So an optometrist that I spoke to, who worked at 124 00:06:22,130 --> 00:06:25,130 S2: both Opsm and Specsavers, and she actually quit at the 125 00:06:25,130 --> 00:06:28,170 S2: recommendation of her psychologist because she was so stressed, she 126 00:06:28,170 --> 00:06:31,370 S2: got this really bad reflux and she she couldn't eat normally. 127 00:06:42,210 --> 00:06:44,730 S1: Okay. And so as you've pointed out just a bit earlier, 128 00:06:44,730 --> 00:06:47,090 S1: these are registered health professionals that we're talking about. They 129 00:06:47,089 --> 00:06:49,610 S1: aren't just there as they are for, for many of us, 130 00:06:49,610 --> 00:06:51,450 S1: when we go in, we think, okay, they're just here 131 00:06:51,450 --> 00:06:53,850 S1: to help me choose spectacles. But actually they're trained to 132 00:06:53,890 --> 00:06:58,489 S1: detect glaucoma. Sometimes they're even spotting tumours or impending strokes. 133 00:06:58,490 --> 00:07:01,370 S1: But you've spoken to optometrists who've been so stressed out 134 00:07:01,370 --> 00:07:03,690 S1: by working at some of these chains. From the pressure 135 00:07:03,690 --> 00:07:07,490 S1: to sell and other practices, it's really impacting their health, right? 136 00:07:08,050 --> 00:07:09,970 S2: These optometrists that were kind of worried with a story 137 00:07:09,970 --> 00:07:12,390 S2: like this that would make them come off as these 138 00:07:12,390 --> 00:07:14,830 S2: terrible health professionals, and they're really worried about that. But 139 00:07:14,830 --> 00:07:16,710 S2: it is impacting them, too. I mean, they want to 140 00:07:16,710 --> 00:07:19,030 S2: be delivering the best patient care they can. I mean, 141 00:07:19,030 --> 00:07:21,470 S2: I don't think many people got into a five year 142 00:07:21,470 --> 00:07:24,630 S2: optometry course to just sell glasses. I mean, there's meant 143 00:07:24,630 --> 00:07:26,510 S2: to be a different role for that. It's called dispensers 144 00:07:26,510 --> 00:07:28,990 S2: or retail stuff in these stores, but the lines are 145 00:07:28,990 --> 00:07:32,550 S2: being blurred. So an optometrist that I spoke to, Helene Lai, 146 00:07:32,590 --> 00:07:35,390 S2: who worked at both Opsm and Specsavers, and she actually 147 00:07:35,390 --> 00:07:38,550 S2: quit at the recommendation of her psychologist because she was 148 00:07:38,550 --> 00:07:41,230 S2: so stressed, she got this really bad reflux and she 149 00:07:41,270 --> 00:07:44,710 S2: she couldn't eat normally. Another person mentioned that she was 150 00:07:44,710 --> 00:07:47,190 S2: so stressed out that she was grinding her teeth at 151 00:07:47,190 --> 00:07:49,390 S2: night as she slept, to the point where she cracked 152 00:07:49,390 --> 00:07:52,990 S2: a tooth. And um, Matt, who you mentioned earlier spoke 153 00:07:52,990 --> 00:07:55,790 S2: about when he was at Epsom, he started obsessively looking 154 00:07:55,790 --> 00:07:58,310 S2: at his appointment books and would try and calculate if 155 00:07:58,310 --> 00:08:00,830 S2: he would make enough sales like glasses sales to his 156 00:08:00,830 --> 00:08:03,910 S2: KPI that day, even for patients who hadn't even seen yet. 157 00:08:03,910 --> 00:08:05,550 S2: In terms of the ones coming in later that day, 158 00:08:05,550 --> 00:08:07,510 S2: and he'd be worried about it. And he just kind 159 00:08:07,510 --> 00:08:09,710 S2: of looking back, he just thought it was really unethical. 160 00:08:09,710 --> 00:08:11,190 S2: And he kind of he didn't like it that he 161 00:08:11,190 --> 00:08:13,250 S2: was doing that. And at the end of the day, 162 00:08:13,410 --> 00:08:16,770 S2: the APA registrations, it's based on an individual optometrist. It's 163 00:08:16,770 --> 00:08:19,330 S2: not the store chain or the store manager that's at risk. 164 00:08:19,570 --> 00:08:21,730 S2: It is the individual optometrist that is at risk of 165 00:08:21,730 --> 00:08:24,930 S2: losing their registration, of losing their career if something goes 166 00:08:24,930 --> 00:08:26,130 S2: wrong in these cases. 167 00:08:26,170 --> 00:08:28,610 S1: Okay. But what would you say to those who say, okay, yes, 168 00:08:28,610 --> 00:08:31,650 S1: but these are businesses. They're in business to make a profit. 169 00:08:31,850 --> 00:08:35,929 S1: And determining individual KPIs or Key Performance Index is central 170 00:08:35,929 --> 00:08:38,490 S1: to to many for profit business models. 171 00:08:38,530 --> 00:08:40,850 S2: I mean, definitely, I mean, cost of living is going up. 172 00:08:40,850 --> 00:08:43,330 S2: A lot of these stores are in places like Westfields 173 00:08:43,330 --> 00:08:45,810 S2: where we know that the the rents to have a, 174 00:08:45,850 --> 00:08:47,850 S2: you know, a Specsavers in a Westfield is going to 175 00:08:47,850 --> 00:08:49,770 S2: be very high and you need to make ends meet 176 00:08:49,770 --> 00:08:52,730 S2: at some point. I don't believe the Medicare benefits have 177 00:08:52,730 --> 00:08:54,850 S2: gone up very much in terms of payments. We've seen 178 00:08:54,850 --> 00:08:58,250 S2: it across GPS as well, where they're not making that 179 00:08:58,250 --> 00:09:01,410 S2: much with each consultation. And yeah. Luca Rundle, the chief 180 00:09:01,410 --> 00:09:05,089 S2: clinical officer, Optometry Australia, who I also spoke with, kind 181 00:09:05,130 --> 00:09:08,210 S2: of said this anecdotal evidence, these anecdotal stories, they don't 182 00:09:08,210 --> 00:09:11,610 S2: prove that KPIs are harming patients, he said. They're a 183 00:09:11,610 --> 00:09:14,830 S2: very safe profession. I mean, only 1% of of optometrists 184 00:09:14,870 --> 00:09:17,589 S2: were the subject of an Acra, which is a regulator 185 00:09:17,590 --> 00:09:22,390 S2: of an APA complaint in 2024 2025, compared with 1.7% 186 00:09:22,390 --> 00:09:26,630 S2: across all registered health practitioners. So it is possible that 187 00:09:26,670 --> 00:09:30,270 S2: the two don't connect, but optometrists are pretty concerned. 188 00:09:30,510 --> 00:09:33,429 S1: And so you've mentioned a number of optometry chains that 189 00:09:33,429 --> 00:09:35,590 S1: many of us would be familiar with in this interview 190 00:09:35,630 --> 00:09:39,390 S1: just today. Opsm Bailey Nelson, Specsavers. So what did they 191 00:09:39,429 --> 00:09:40,589 S1: say in response? 192 00:09:40,950 --> 00:09:44,270 S2: Yeah, I didn't hear back from Opsm and Bailey Nelson, unfortunately, 193 00:09:44,550 --> 00:09:47,830 S2: but Specsavers essentially said that their optometrists are empowered to 194 00:09:47,870 --> 00:09:50,949 S2: make clinical decisions in the best interests of their patients 195 00:09:51,190 --> 00:09:55,510 S2: and that their clinical benchmarking and practice standards, aka their KPIs, 196 00:09:56,070 --> 00:10:00,030 S2: help practitioners learn from their peers, strengthen their professional development, 197 00:10:00,030 --> 00:10:03,510 S2: and deliver consistently high standards of care for every patient. 198 00:10:03,710 --> 00:10:05,630 S2: And I do understand they've sent out an all staff 199 00:10:05,630 --> 00:10:08,710 S2: email since our report where they sent all of their 200 00:10:08,710 --> 00:10:11,150 S2: optometrists their full statement, because I could only use a 201 00:10:11,150 --> 00:10:13,950 S2: little in my story. And yeah, maybe they'll be changing 202 00:10:13,950 --> 00:10:15,190 S2: some things. I guess we'll see. 203 00:10:15,230 --> 00:10:17,300 S1: And one last question that I've got to ask you. 204 00:10:17,340 --> 00:10:20,300 S1: You know, your story really hit a nerve. The last 205 00:10:20,300 --> 00:10:23,780 S1: time I checked, it had more than 350 comments. I mean, 206 00:10:23,820 --> 00:10:25,700 S1: that's the number of comments that we often get at 207 00:10:25,700 --> 00:10:29,459 S1: our mastheads on like the biggest global political stories. So 208 00:10:29,460 --> 00:10:31,740 S1: why do you think that this has connected with so 209 00:10:31,740 --> 00:10:33,500 S1: many readers and listeners? 210 00:10:33,780 --> 00:10:34,420 S3: I think as. 211 00:10:34,420 --> 00:10:37,340 S2: Everyone's had that experience of going to a health professional, 212 00:10:37,340 --> 00:10:40,860 S2: whether it's an optometrist or a dentist or a physio 213 00:10:41,100 --> 00:10:43,939 S2: and feeling like you're being ripped off, maybe they're saying 214 00:10:43,940 --> 00:10:46,020 S2: you need this test, you need this treatment. And you think, 215 00:10:46,020 --> 00:10:47,900 S2: do I really need it? Or are they just trying 216 00:10:47,900 --> 00:10:49,740 S2: to get a bit more money out of me or 217 00:10:49,740 --> 00:10:52,220 S2: my health fund? And it's really hard to know as 218 00:10:52,220 --> 00:10:55,860 S2: a average consumer what you actually need in these instances. 219 00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:59,980 S2: And I think seeing these corporate practices, which are essentially 220 00:11:00,260 --> 00:11:03,579 S2: directing optometrists to someone, I think put it as pull 221 00:11:03,580 --> 00:11:06,420 S2: the wool over the eyes of patients, it's really tough 222 00:11:06,420 --> 00:11:08,020 S2: to hear. And it kind of confirms a lot of 223 00:11:08,020 --> 00:11:09,380 S2: our suspicions, I think. 224 00:11:09,740 --> 00:11:11,780 S1: And I guess a lot of a lot of Australians 225 00:11:11,780 --> 00:11:15,020 S1: like myself, like Josh, my producer who's sitting next to 226 00:11:15,020 --> 00:11:18,559 S1: me wear glasses. And so have you got much feedback, 227 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,520 S1: you know, beyond the 350 comments, have you received emails 228 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,679 S1: from anybody that's saying, hey, this has happened to me 229 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,240 S1: as well? Or what sort of feedback besides the comments 230 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:27,000 S1: have you received? 231 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:28,760 S2: Yeah, we put in a call out box for people 232 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,480 S2: to get in touch if they've had similar experiences. I 233 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,640 S2: just had a count before we chatted, and I've got 234 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,880 S2: more than 60 responses to that, as well as separate emails. 235 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,560 S2: And we've got comments on Instagram from a mix of 236 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,400 S2: optometrists and patients and others inside and outside of the 237 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,000 S2: industry on their experiences on this. So I think there's 238 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,040 S2: definitely more to come in this space. 239 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,199 S1: Well, thank you so much, Rachel, for your time. 240 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:55,400 S2: Thank you. 241 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,440 S1: In other news today, children should be monitored for high 242 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,960 S1: blood pressure from the age of seven under new national 243 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,740 S1: guidelines aimed at reducing organ damage, heart attacks and stroke 244 00:12:21,740 --> 00:12:26,580 S1: later in life. Strong commodity prices and the nation's job 245 00:12:26,580 --> 00:12:29,540 S1: market have helped wipe billions of dollars from the budget 246 00:12:29,540 --> 00:12:34,220 S1: deficit and government debt. But consumers face more pain as 247 00:12:34,220 --> 00:12:37,380 S1: the war against Iran risks a fresh spike in petrol 248 00:12:37,380 --> 00:12:43,140 S1: prices and inflation. And Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has become 249 00:12:43,140 --> 00:12:47,980 S1: the director's biggest global opening ever and grossed over $13.5 250 00:12:47,980 --> 00:12:52,660 S1: million in its opening weekend in Australia. You can read 251 00:12:52,660 --> 00:13:00,380 S1: more at the age.com.au or smh.com.au. Today's episode was produced 252 00:13:00,380 --> 00:13:04,420 S1: by Josh towers. Our executive producer is Tammy Mills, and 253 00:13:04,420 --> 00:13:08,420 S1: our podcasts are overseen by Lisa Muxworthy and Tom McKendrick. 254 00:13:08,780 --> 00:13:11,620 S1: If you like our show, follow the Morning Edition and 255 00:13:11,620 --> 00:13:14,940 S1: leave a review for us on Apple or Spotify. Thanks 256 00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:15,699 S1: for listening.